Red Cross volunteers aid fire relief

Henry and Cynthia Parle, Charlotte Valdivia, Ken Mattox, Nick Denton and Susan Hoffman, RN, all affiliated with the Hood River Chapter of the American Red Cross and national disaster responders, provided service this past weekend at a shelter set up at St. Mary’s Academy in The Dalles, and at the statewide Red Cross fire relief operations headquarters.

Red Cross shelters are open throughout the state in support of both voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders and the relief operation is being managed as a Red Cross national disaster relief operation with a headquarters location in Bend.

Henry and Cynthia Parle have been working at the St. Mary’s shelter in The Dalles since it was opened last week. This is Henry’s third national disaster relief operation assignment this year and he had most recently been assigned to the Illinois flood recovery operation in May. Cynthia Parle has served on multiple national relief operations and has experience in damage assessment, records and reports and family services.

Charlotte Valdivia is assigned to logistical support to The Dalles relief operations and among other things, Charlotte will be delivering meals in the ERV to the shelter, firefighters, and relief workers during her assignment. Charlotte’s most recent Red Cross national disaster assignment was in connection with Arizona fires and has only been home from that assignment for one week.

Ken Mattox has been working at the St. Mary’s Shelter this past week. Ken came to the Red Cross as a volunteer as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and has seen service in New York during the relief effort and most recently with the Kansas City ice storms last winter.

Nick Denton, one of the chapter’s most experienced members, is a logistics officer for the statewide relief effort and has been assigned to the Bend headquarters location. Nick has served with both the International Red Cross in places such as Albania and India, and with the American Red Cross in more than 25 national disaster relief assignments serving over 700 days on assignment since 1994.

Susan Hoffman, RN, has been involved in over 25 Red Cross disaster relief operations since 1994 including two separate assignments to New York in connection with 9/11. Corey Nygaard, a former Hood River chapter volunteer, who is now a full time disaster director with the Mid-Valley, Oregon, chapter of the Red Cross is also serving with the local relief effort in The Dalles.